Storage containers are of growing importance in commerce as more products are being shipped to individual customers. Depending on the product being shipped, the storage container may need to be specially designed to both fit and protect the product. To ship fruits and other perishables, the containers need to protect the fruits from being damaged during shipping and handling. Also, the box needs to have sufficient strength to hold the heavier weight of the fruit and withstand stacking several containers upon each other without crushing from the overall weight.
Conventional boxes tend to use a variety of glues and plastic material together to provide protection needed for the shipping fruits and other products. These conventional boxes may be expensive to manufacture as they require several different packaging pieces to be manufactured separately and then assembled. Also, they tend not be easily broken down and recycled as they may have tough glues or nails holding them together. The glues and other fastening materials along with non-biodegradable packaging are hard to dispose of and may even be harmful to the environment in large enough quantities.
In particular, it is difficult to ship fruit as gifts in conventional boxes as they may look cheaply made and not aesthetically appealing. This is often not the impression desired when sending fruit or other perishables as a gift to be placed in a home kitchen or office environment. Unfortunately, the conventional storage containers that are capable of shipping fruit and perishables do not address these and other related issues.
Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements.